Recent history

Introduction

The apocalypse continues.

Once-possessed corpses now rot in the blasted ruins of human civilisation, a reprieve in a way but an uncertain future now faces those who have fought so hard to survive. The war against the dead is over but humanity remains Forsaken, and the world is far from safe.

The now physically manifested Djinn struggle to make new lives, feeding themselves and dealing with the far-reaching hands of the Cult of Job and their disease. Those who dedicated themselves before now follow their Queens again, these warbands do much better, creating new micro civilisations and safe places to live. Humans survivors cannot help encountering them, sometimes peacefully but often violently.

Disease, famine and the Djinn are no longer humanities biggest threat.

Something started a civil war in heaven, the conclave of the Archangels and a peaceful solution shattered by the actions of humans. The side of Justice no longer bound by the rules have begun enacting Gabriel’s plan to cleanse the Earth. Only the forces of Hope led by Michael and Raphael are preventing the main army from descending.

Djinn History

Creation

The Djinn are one of the many created creatures G-d made during the refinement of sentient beings. They came before angels, but after Titans, and were simply a soul given sentience. G-d noted that the sentient souls grew frustrated at their ability to view the world, but not interact with it, so he gave them the power to enter other physical objects and control them, and later gave them the power to manifest a body. The Djinn are known as creatures “of smoke and fire” – G-d modelled their form on that of smoke and heat, visible to the eye as they wafted through the air. Later when he gave them the power to manifest, they would appear as pale, ashy-coloured humanoids. The “fire” spoken of is more metaphorical – Djinn tend to be quick to anger – their existence was one of frustration at a world they could watch, but not control. A wold in which they were quickly surpassed by the Angels and then later, the Humans. Over hundreds of years, however, the Djinn learnt to manipulate and control fire, their affinity to the substance from which they were made manifested as control, but only the most powerful of the Djinn could wield it, and only when not possessing a body.

Ancient History

The Djinn were G-d’s first sentient race – previously he had created Titans, god-like beings to aid him in making a world full of plants and some animal and reptilian life, but never had he granted a whole race with self-awareness and sentience. G-d gave the Djinn the power to communicate with each other, and learn and observe the world around them before placing them on the earth and observing them. The Djinn quickly became frustrated – they could watch, but not touch – they could talk and hypothesize but they could not influence the world to prove their theories or back their arguments. They rapidly fell into factions, fighting amongst themselves as a way to vent their frustration at a world they could not influence.

In an attempt to appease them, G-d gave the Djinn the power to inhabit and control other creatures, but this lead to further fighting as each Djinn fought for the best body it could inhabit, rapidly learning ways to force the other Djinn from bodies they wanted. Their arguments because fights and in time, wars. G-d eventually gave the creatures the power to manifest a body and with it, mortality – the plan was to teach the Djinn to be less war-like by showing that the consequence of war was death. For a time the Djinn ceased their wars, their society always remained fractionated, but they learnt to trade and to seek knowledge – an old habit they had forgotten due to years of warfare.

Society

Djinn society is very fractionated – they existed in “war bands” although they acknowledged they were all one race and could band together if required. Think Roman legions, each with their own peculiar beliefs and practises who nevertheless will stand together should the need arise. The Djinn formed one hundred war bands – and became known as The Hundred Nations of Smoke and Ash.

Djinn value knowledge and power – they trade for these things, and while they may not value riches per-say, they understand that riches can buy power and knowledge. They prefer to trade knowledge, hidden wisdom for hidden wisdom – truth for truth, it is the simplest trade and benefits everyone. While they will trade for other things, the value is diminished in their eyes, because it is adding steps to the process of gaining power and knowledge.

A Djinn will, for example, accept a vast horde of gold in exchange for a secret it knows, but it would much rather receive a secret in exchange for a secret – it is more valuable. Similarly, it is possible to demand great riches or vast shows of power from a Djinn in exchange for a secret you have which it wants – but you would rely on the Djinn having the leverage to provide what it has promised.

The Djinn have the ability to manifest a physical form, but they know that the price of this form is mortality – they are constantly caught between the urge to exist physically, to experience the pleasures of the world, and the fear of death. Djinn see their physical manifestation as a way to project trust, to show vulnerability – they will manifest their physical form, for example, as a show of good faith during a bargain, or during a discussion with other war bands in order to form a treaty. A Djinn who will only possess a body, or appear as a smoke-like spirit is one who means you harm, or does not trust you.

Djinn society is highly regimented, all Djinn have a rank within their band and every war band has a rank within their overall society. All Djinn war bands vie for more power, a better position – they are like great royal dynasties, each fighting and scheming to improve their position with the tools they have available. Likewise, within each war band the Djinn are always looking to improve their position – to climb the ladder of social status. Djinn are created beings, they do not procreate – while they have the ability to physically manifest and procreate, no Djinn would risk being physically manifested for long enough to have a child. They are immortal, and as such procreation never seemed important enough to risk their own lives.

Djinn have no familial ties – their loyalty is to their war band. They are capable of love, and indeed some Djinn form lasting, eternal partnerships with any number of other Djinn, but they are immortal and so they do not have the drive to reproduce, nor do they value the endeavour given their eternal status. Djinn would rather spend their time finding ways to leverage power, to learn secrets, to trade with other, less clever beings (angels and some Titans) in order to further their personal ambitions as well as that of their war band.

Djinn society flourished on Earth for many hundreds of years, while they were aware of the continued work of G-d, they did not worship him, nor did they care for his other creations – it was not until a Titan named Hyperion came to them and enraged the Hundred Nations of Smoke and Ash to go to war with their creator did the Djinn learn of humans, and the ongoing work of G-d.

The War on Heaven

Hyperion (or, Satan) came to the Djinn and told them of the Humans, he also held council with the leader of the greatest of the war bands and bargained with him for a Great Secret. The bargaining went on for days, but eventually the great leader of the most powerful war band came forth, announcing to the Djinn that the price of the Great Secret was that the Hundred Nations would stand as one, and fight alongside the Titans in their war against G-d.

That evening, the Great Leader shared the secret he had been given with the leaders of each of the hundred war bands, and they all agreed the secret was worth the price. They also agreed to keep the secret – it assured their position as leader of each war band for eternity.

The War on Heaven was a disaster – the Djinn lost many of their number, and while some Djinn had died before when manifested, none had died in such numbers. The Djinn quickly faltered, and then fell in the face of the Angelic Army. To this day, Djinn fear the merciless Gabriel, who cut great swathes through their number, despite the best efforts of the Titans and Hyperion to shield them from the onslaught.

The Djinn broke and were captured, rounded up by the Angels and brought before G-d. G-d punished them – he banished them to the Void – he told them that they had had the entire world to explore, to learn from – and all they had ever done was fight over it. Now, they could spend eternity watching the Humans live and flourish and love their world, and never again would they, the Djinn, have the power to influence the world, to touch, to feel, to manifest.

Banishment to void

The djinn were sent to the void, a place of cold and darkness. They rapidly learnt that they could no longer manifest a body, nor was there anything in the void to possess. Stripped back to their most basic form, the Djinn slowly went mad – starved of physical connection and frustrated by being reduced to simply watching the world.

They attempted, at first, to hold on to their society – but this soon broke down, the Djinn found there was little point in doing anything other than waiting, and watching.

The Djinn who seemed most able to hold it together were the leaders and their closest aides – they said that they held knowledge, great secrets that meant they knew that one day, this punishment would end – that they must wait and prepare and not fall to despair. Their message had varying degrees of success – some Djinn remained sane, others were driven mad by their hatred for G-d and their growing envy and hatred of Humans.

When the void one day miraculously opened, the Djinn spilled forth onto the earth. Lost for so long in the void, they rapidly set about remembering how to control bodies, not daring to manifest fully. One by one, they remembered their power, and controlled the dead that they could find, raising up and taking out their frustrations on those around them – the humans – whom they had watched for thousands of years, waging war once again.

A Sudden Change

The Djinn have rampaged over the face of the earth for just over a year – reducing human civilisation to ruins, or pockets of order in a sea of catastrophe. Then, quite suddenly, about two weeks before the start of Event 6, all Djinn felt a sudden, strange sensation – like a cold invisible hand catching hold of their spirit followed by a warm sensation, followed by suddenly and unexpectedly manifesting in their mortal form. Many immediately tried to demanifest, only to discover they could not. The last X time have been extremely hard on many of the Djinn – suddenly mortal and vulnerable, their minds returned from whatever madness they had suffered from, they have been terrified, many alone.

Some were more fortunate – some never succumbed to the madness of the Void, they had already been rebuilding their society and refinding their warbands – for them, this change is no less traumatic, but they were better prepared. Efforts to build small warband strongholds have redoubled over the past two weeks, as suddenly the Djinn need shelter, food and medical care.

With the madness lifted from them, the Djinn are reforming their warbands and reclaiming their place on Earth – how they feel about what they have done since returning from the Void is up to each individual to work through – many are likely to care little, as humans are creatures they despise, others may be frightened that their actions will have made their now-mortal existence much harder, others may even feel a level of guilt as they begin to process intellectually the destruction and callousness they have visited upon the human species. The Djinn as warbands will have different group approaches to their new situation, and more detail will be given in individual and group briefs on the specific reactions of tribes, in line with their philosophies and post-mortality actions.